Immediate Steps You Can Take

After my article on Commitment, I received a bunch of comments and messages asking me what people can do to increase their preparedness for what is to come.  In this post, I’ll give you nine things to start on RIGHT NOW that will serve you well.

Let me tell you first, I’m not going to tell you to go buy a gun.  At this point, if you don’t already have a firearm and ammunition, you aren’t going to get them.  They are gone.

I’m also not going to discuss gear, beyond a few basic things, because the main thing we need to change RIGHT NOW is our MINDSET.

This mindset that this is all going to blow over needs to go away.  Are you feeling like any of this is just magically going to go away?  If you do, kindly head on over to someone else’s site, I don’t have time to open your eyes; it’s time to get ready.

Before we move on, let’s get a check on The Ultimate Tactical Handbook, the Bible.  What does it say about being ready?

“Therefore keep watch,

Because you do not know the day or the hour”

Matthew 25:13

Well, there it is, straight from the mouth of Jesus…Keep watch and be ready.

1. Increase Your Alert Level

This is as simple as paying attention and taking a few basic steps to ensure that you are ready.  

First, I don’t let the vehicles get below 3/4 of a tank of gas.  One of the first things that authorities will limit in the event of major civil disturbance is the sale of gasoline, to reduce the use of Molotov cocktails.  If you own additional gas cans, keep them full as well.  If you don’t, acquire at least one.

I also pay closer attention to people walking through the neighborhood and people around facilities at work.

Also, learn to listen.  People tell you what they intend to do, if you listen.  For example, you can always tell what next restriction Governor Whitmer is about to put in place by listening to her when she says “I would hate to have to…..”; you can bet that is the next rule coming.  Bill Gates is on video telling you that vaccines will not be optional.  Just listen.

Simply understand that “normal” went away in March and is never coming back.

2. Commit To Gathering Intelligence

Spending a few minutes online a few times a day can prevent you from being trapped inside a planned protest that you didn’t know about. I’ve been attending protests for a while and I’m always shocked at the number of cars that get trapped inside the protest, despite these groups openly advertising their events on social media.

Learn who the local leadership is (it’s easy, they’re very vocal on social media) for local protest groups and check their profile every morning.  You’ll be far more aware of what protest activity is planned and you can inform the rest of your tribe (more on that in a minute) of potential hot spots.  You’ll also see that these people travel everywhere wearing body armor and bringing combat gear.  If your opposition is, shouldn’t you?

Side note- Watch the livestreams of their protest speakers. You’ll be amazed at what they are REALLY advocating for, versus what the media tells you.

Sign up for Nixle of whatever local information sharing platform your local police forces use.  I’ve been notified of protests, road closures, and active shooters via text with just a 5 minute sign up.  It’s an invaluable resource.

Let the leftist tech companies gather intel for you.  Set up Google alerts for your area and they will send a daily news brief every morning or evening recapping whatever topics you ask them to tell you about.  For example, since part of my role involves Executive Protection, I have a Google Alert set up to recap all news stories related to kidnapping every night at 8 PM.  It’s a simple process and they’ll send you whatever you ask for.

I’ve developed a list of “vehicles of interest” and “people of interest” based upon my attendance at their rallies, so that if I see one of their vehicles in the area of somewhere I’m at (work, shopping mall, etc), I know that something may be happening.

Small steps like this will help your overall awareness and alert level.

3. Build A Tribe

Your tribe begins with your family.  You have to get everyone on board with understanding the risk level and taking basic precautions.  You can’t do any good if you’re the only one in your family taking steps.

Learn who in your neighborhood and at work is feeling the same way you are.  Start talking about preparedness.  Develop plans with both your work tribe and your home tribe of how you would handle emergencies that could develop.  These don’t alway have to be “SHTF” type situations, they can involve fire, or medical emergency.

For example, the first time an ambulance showed up at the neighbors’ house, I went across the street and told the elderly couple that if they every have an emergency again, come knock on the door let me help until the medics arrive.

Understand…the Mad Max series and the Book of Eli were MOVIES.  You cannot survive as a lone wolf; you need a tribe.

4. Make A Communications Plan

The average person, when asked about emergency communications, say “I carry my phone everywhere I go”.  Neat. 

On September 11, 2001, the phone systems throughout the United States were absolutely overwhelmed.  While we’ve made a lot of progress, phone systems in the immediate area of a catastrophe will be overwhelmed and public safety units will be given priority.  

I responded to both Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy, and in both cases, local cell service was non-existent.

It’s also important to note that cellular phone systems require a big chunk of grid power to operate.  If the power is out, cell phones will follow quickly.

You can, when the phone system is overwhelmed, still use plain text (not MMS) and apps like Zello (2 way radio app), even though actual calls may not go through.

Handheld radios are a great addition.  The FRS/GMRS radios that you can buy at Walmart or Target are OK, but extremely low power.  Buy a higher quality radio and consider obtaining an Amateur Radio license.  I also maintain a mobile radio, with much higher power, in the vehicle at all times.  These handheld radios only work if everyone in your tribe is on the same channel and carries their radio at all times in case of an emergency.  I keep one on my patrol backpack in the car, fully charged, every single day.

It’s important to note that ANTIFA and BLM use handheld radios to coordinate.  If your opposition does it, so should you.

The Channel 3 project is set up by the American Redoubt Radio Network, a group of preparedness folks in the American West.  They recommend that all patriots use channel 3 on whatever system you use (FRS/MURS/CB/GMRS), so that even if in an area you’ve never been in, you should be able to locate like-minded people for assistance or directions.

Keep them charged, keep them close.

5. Develop Emergency Plans

Just like fire drills, you should have plans developed for what you intend to do in the event your house is surrounded by protestors, your car is trapped inside a protest, or there is widespread rioting and looting in your area.

Make plans for your family, your neighborhood tribe, your work tribe, and any other group of people you are around regularly.

The best investment I ever made for planning was buying a Battle Board Scout (www.battleboard.us).  I saw a need for something handheld that I could chart or plan on for paper maps, without ruining the maps.  It’s basically an excellent notebook case, but there is polycarbonate window where you can put a map inside and then draw out plans or track activity on the map.  The picture below shows my planning and tracking for a recent protest.  The blue lines indicate potential escape routes I planned, the red denotes the original protest area and and their march route.  The X’s show where they stopped traffic for an extended period.

I liked it so much that I just recently acquired their newest, the Scout 4.0, in a small size, perfect for putting in checklists to use alongside my other Battle Board Scout (see photo below).  Check them out, they’re a veteran owned business.  I predict buying their Expedition in the near future.  There is a full review of my original Battle Board Scout in the archives here, look for one on the Scout 4.0 soon.

When planning, use the acronym PACE to develop 4 plans for everything.  These are Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency.

Write these plans down, discuss them, and then TRAIN ON THEM with the whole tribe.  Get out, find out what works, and what doesn’t.  Plans are living documents and should be constantly updated.

6. Make Critical Decisions NOW

The time to decide what you’re going to do when surrounded by protestors in your car is NOW, not when they are around your car.  Will you back up and go the wrong way down the road?  Will you keep going?  Decide NOW.  These plans can’t involve waiting for the police, the police are no longer responding to these situations AT ALL.  I’ve witnessed them physically turn around and drive away.

Make the decision about what you’ll do in every situation related to our current state of affairs now, and then develop the plans from those.

7. Carry Emergency Gear Everywhere

This might seem like a no-brainer, but every time I teach a concealed pistol class, I ask people to show me their first aid kit.  The only time anyone actually had one, it was my own son.

Let me say it one more time…The piece of gear that you will use most from your emergency supplies is a FIRST AID KIT.  You should have several first aid kits, stored everywhere, but you can start with one, and carry it everywhere.  I have two in the car, a small one in my patrol bag, and a small one in my work backpack.  It doesn’t hurt and could save a life.  Check out www.bearindependent.com for outstanding kits.

I carry emergency clothing changes, because my daily work attire isn’t conducive to field work.   I also carry boots in the car, because dress shoes aren’t going to do any good if I have to walk 25 miles home in an emergency.

There are other posts on this site to help you build gear bags, but the point here is that the best-stocked gear bag in the world doesn’t do you any good if it’s 15 miles away when you need it.  Yes, my trunk is full, but I can live for at least a week out of the gear in my trunk, and I can certainly evade a crowd or defend myself with the gear in the car.

8. Check In

Once you’ve established a tribe and set up plans, put your gear in the car, and keep it full, then, you enter a maintenance phase.  What happened with one of my groups is that when the lockdowns began, we sprung into action and spun up quickly, but after a couple of weeks, everyone fell off the bandwagon.

We failed to check in with each other and when the riots began, it showed.

So, learn from my mistakes.  Once you have these things set up, test them.  Call each other.  Meet together.  Discuss the situation and remain engaged.  

Keep the foot on the gas.

9. Train With The Tribe

Once you’ve set all these things up, train together.  Don’t let people in your tribe dodge training.  Many guys say “No, I know what I’m doing”, but either really don’t or have never worked with a team. Make training TOGETHER a requirement.

You can’t train enough and I can’t stress enough the need for training.  

Once you train on these plans, you’ll find the shortcomings and make adjustments.  Make that a constant process.

I hope that this list helps you begin your preparations.

It’s important that we all open our eyes to the fact that the day after the 2020 Election is going to be a violent day, and may change the course of our entire nation.  Neither side is going to be happy with the results, no matter who wins, and with the current tensions, there is no way a peaceful resolution can be found.  

Stay alert.  Train.  Prepare.